Most UK ambulance services undertake a secondary assessment of 999 calls with nurses and paramedics to best manage delays in responses and reduce inappropriate admissions to hospitals. However, little is known about the differences in the types of cases managed by the two professions comparatively, their clinical outcomes, and the quality and safety they offer.

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Emergency dispatch is a relatively new field, but the growth of dispatching as a profession, along with raised expectations for help before responders arrive, has led to increased production of and interest in emergency dispatch research. As yet, no systematic review of dispatch research has been conducted. This study reviewed the existing literature and indicated gaps in the research as well as potentially fruitful extensions of current lines of study. Dispatch-related terms were used to search for papers in research databases (including PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, EMCARE, SciSearch, PsychInfo...

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